


TOSKA

by sadsloth8



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-29 02:01:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19820230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadsloth8/pseuds/sadsloth8
Summary: Toska - (n) ache of the soul, longing with nothing to long for.A case thought to be unsolvable is given to a cynical detective after the peculiar death of a woman in the forest.(Inspiration from Tumblr post, by Unknown)





	TOSKA

The instructions she memorised played in her head over and over again. Five easy rules - just five. Feet absently kicking up dirt and stones from the narrow path, she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. Upon opening it, she saw her own messy scrawl, carelessly written before she had set into the forest. The reason she had decided to venture into the verdant depths was simple; it had fascinated her. The forest had countless urban legends and conspiracy theories associated with it. Julianne herself was fairly sceptical. Many people believed it to be haunted, particularly due to the numerous deaths that had occurred over the past few decades. She dismissed this idea almost as soon as she had heard it, and looking around her made her feel more sure. Leaves rustled gently in the light spring breeze, coloured a dazzling emerald, the smell of the trees and fresh air enclosing her. But that wasn't the main reason she wanted to come here.

After thorough research, she had discovered an obscure website. It was based entirely around the forest, vague bits of its unusual history, and entailed a brief but peculiar set of instructions. This had been what compelled her to come. Above it, written entirely in capital letters, was a title which read 'BEFORE ENTERING THE TOSKA FOREST, PLEASE READ THE BELOW INSTRUCTIONS AND TAKE THE APPROPRIATE CAUTIONS'. When she had read them, the first couple of instructions seemed fairly reasonable, until it eventually began to increase in strangeness. It intrigued her how a place like this could be considered to be so sinister. Flattening out the paper, she reread the first instruction: 'Never turn around to check behind you. You'll see nothing, but once you do you won't be able to stop.' As of yet, she had obeyed the rule. It was easy to see why this instruction was written; someone who is afraid may become extremely paranoid, and the brain can imagine things that aren't actually there in that state. Still, a fascination bubbled in her stomach, a strong yearning to turn around and look. Just to check its authenticity. She dismissed this thought and continued to move forward. As she started to continue reading, the wind had picked up just behind her, emitting a chilling howl that was eerily human-like. The coldness sent a shiver down her spine. She remembered an extra part to that first instruction.

_'An ominous feeling will follow you until you don't lock your house door behind you'_

The brief sentence didn't sit well with her, at all. She doubted that it had an extra, more malevolent meaning, but a small voice told her to be careful, despite her knowing that, logically, the only thing she should be worried about is any animals lurking in the trees. Behind her, the wind had started to grow in aggressiveness, the howling replicating the sound of a human scream. It had picked up fallen leaves, which, in contrast to the rest of the leaves dancing subtly in the background, had begun cutting through the air almost violently. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, yet she remained facing forward.

The second instruction. Slightly shorter than the first. It read: 'If you stand very still and listen you will hear the woods calling for you. Don't answer. Never answer.' This had already begun to escalate in strangeness, but she once again marked the voices down as merely being human paranoia.

_'An ominous feeling will follow you.'_

She paused momentarily, considering whether or not to stop and listen to the forest. One voice, an instinctive inner voice told her to continue walking. An outside voice contradicted it. Despite having never heard it before, it felt familiar to her. Like it could be trusted. The wind had picked up even more human-like qualities; the gentle whooshing sounded like calm, quiet voices. In her brain, it sounded as if it was calling her name, beckoning her and asking her to turn to face them. She continued to walk.

Her gaze moved from the endless path ahead back down to the paper. The third instruction was written in bold, scribbled letters. 'You'll hear things quietly following you, hidden in the trees by your sides.' Even more bizarrely, an extra sentence was written, and she couldn't be sure whether this was intended to comfort the reader or not: 'It's okay, they're just checking on you.' Immediately after she had read this, something that almost sounded like a second set of footsteps followed her own. The wind had turned into a furious gale, louder than it ever had been. Julianne had just realised, that the wind was only ever behind her. It was never ahead of her or to the side of her. It always remained just behind. As if it was waiting. Biding its time.

She shivered suddenly, and then wrapped her arms tightly across her chest. She kept her head down and continued to walk forward. The dirt beneath her feet became more like mud, now thicker and less like gravel. It felt as though her steps were becoming slower than they were before. This reminded her of the fourth instruction. She pulled out the piece of paper, which she had tucked under her arm. Straightening it, she reread the sentence. This instruction was, by far, the creepiest one of the five: 'You never know what may be buried under the soil you're walking on. Remember that every time you take a step. Pray whatever it is, it won't wake up.'

Again, as if on cue, the whole forest seemed as though it was alive. Sounds filled her ears, sounds she had never heard before but felt familiar. The sound of its voice. The wind seemed increasingly less important as Toska Forest sung to her, asking her to turn around, _turn around_. Strands of her hair flew across her back as the gale grew in strength, and everything blurred. She had forgotten why she was her. All she knew was that _she was here_ , but the details remained hazy. In her grasp, the paper was still flailing weakly in the air. The floor beneath her feet felt like it was moving desperately, making her lightheaded. She once again straightened the paper, which had been crumpled in her grip, and read the final instruction: 'Make sure you remember the way back home. As soon as you get lost, you're just another piece of fresh meat.'

' _An ominous feeling will follow you.'_

Without warning, the wind ceased entirely. The leaves held still, the trees stood silently and watched, and the ground had stopped moving. It was like the forest was holding its breath. Julianne stood, body frozen in fear, and the only thing she could be certain of was the person standing behind her. Like herself, it remained silent and stood still. For the first time, she managed to move and slowly turned around. A blurred silhouette stood there, merely observing as she turned to face it. She squinted her eyes, trying to get a closer look at them.

Before she could figure out who, or what, had been following her, a cold, claw-like hand reached from the soil beneath her feet and curled it's dead fingers around her ankle.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading! I can't guarantee a specific date for when the next chapters will be published, but I will work hard to write and release the rest of the book.


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